Washington County Passes Ban on Flavored Tobacco Products

December 2021

On November 2, the Washington County Board of Commissioners voted to ban flavored tobacco products, becoming the first county in Oregon to do so.

Ordinance 878, which bans the sale of all flavored tobacco products such as menthol cigarettes and vape pens, was a culmination of nearly four years of work by Washington County Public Health that evolved significantly over this time. Gwyn Ashcom, MPH, the tobacco prevention coordinator for Washington County, took the lead beginning in 2018.

“This work began as a local TRL [tobacco retail licensure] proposal,” said Ashcom in a recent Zoom interview. “We approached city councils across the county to gauge support, and most were surprised TRL didn’t already exist. A lot of city partners were in favor because of the youth vaping epidemic that was getting national attention. It was something they could connect with.”

In the midst of this work in Washington County, the Oregon Legislature passed SB 587 during the 2021 session, implementing a statewide TRL starting in January 2022. When SB 587 passed, Washington County pivoted their approach to a flavor restriction instead, limiting the sale of flavored tobacco and synthetic nicotine products to places that only sell to people ages 21 and older. The County’s ordinance would also prohibit promotions and discounts for flavored products.

This work had a great deal of local support from community partners such as the Oregon Partners for Tobacco Prevention, Oregon Pediatric Society, local federally qualified health centers, Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO), and the youth substance use prevention coalitions Beaverton Together and Tigard Turns the Tide.

“This is a way to protect kids and prevent youth initiation of tobacco use,” Ashcom said. “We had many school partners as well as about 10 high school students testify at the Board meetings. It validated that this is a problem in our schools locally.”

Washington County also centered health equity in this proposal in alignment with countywide equity work. Ashcom said that APANO helped with a lot of this equity work and that Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer for Washington County Latricia Tillman provided helpful background on the history of menthol tobacco products and targeted advertising to Black communities. “Our tobacco prevention and education work is housed within the Health Equity, Planning and Policy (HEPP) program of the Public Health Division, and we have always seen our prevention efforts through the lens of addressing health equity and eliminating tobacco related disparities,” said Phyusin Myint, Ph.D., HEPP program supervisor.

The proposed ordinance went to the Board of Commissioners for the first time in August 2021. It received strong support, and Commissioner Nafisa Fai took it a step further by introducing an amendment for a total ban on flavored tobacco and synthetic nicotine products. After three public hearings, the amended ordinance passed with a vote of 3-2 on November 2, 2021.

“The board heard compelling evidence that restricting access of flavored products results in fewer young people using addictive tobacco and nicotine substances as well as higher quit rates,” Chair Harrington stated in a press release after the vote. “Even though the vote was not unanimous, we clearly heard each commissioner express agreement that the use of tobacco substances is harmful and marketing strategies that aggressively target anyone in our community — especially young people and marginalized groups — are unacceptable. I’m confident that this step forward, along with the rollout of statewide tobacco retail licensing requirements, will serve to protect the health of all Washington County residents.”

“Our commissioners were very brave to step forward and do something so impactful for public health and the health of our communities,” Ashcom said. “For other counties looking to pass similar measures, we recommend doing a full economic impact analysis they can share with stakeholders and decision makers.”

Ashcom says that HEPP Program Supervisor Phyusin Myint, retired Public Health Manager Tricia Mortell, and former Health and Human Services Director Marni Kuyl were key supporters in passing this ordinance.

“Tricia started these conversations and kept this at the forefront even during COVID,” Ashcom said. “When Tricia retired, Marni picked it up right away.” Kuyl also presented the background and research for the ordinance to Washington County’s Board of Commissioners at the fourth and final reading.

Ordinance 878 passed on November 2, with enforcement starting on January 1, 2022. Congratulations, Washington County, on passing a landmark policy that will have a huge, positive public health impact!